Strongly coupled interface ferroelectricity and interface superconductivity in amorphous LaAlO3/KTaO3(111)

Abstract Interfaces can differ from their parent compounds in charge, spin, and orbital orders, providing fertile ground for emergent phenomena, strongly correlated physics, and novel device applications. Here, we present evidence of a ferroelectric order at the interface of two oxides, amorphous LaAlO 3 /KTaO 3 (111), where two seemingly mutually exclusive orders—ferroelectricity and superconductivity—coexist. Ferroelectricity is confirmed through scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, and piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM). STEM reveals a displacement of K atoms relative to Ta atoms, facilitated by oxygen vacancies at the LAO/KTO interface. The resulting ferroelectric polarization is locally switchable by applying a voltage between the PFM tip and the LaAlO 3 film. Flipping ferroelectric polarization reduces interfacial conductivity by more than 1000 times, simultaneously suppresses superconductivity. Moreover, the ferroelectric hysteresis correlates with hysteretic changes in interfacial conductivity and the superconducting transition temperature ( T c ), providing clear evidence of coupling between ferroelectricity and superconductivity. These findings open a pathway to ferroelectric superconductivity with broken inversion symmetry and non-volatile control of superconductivity.